03.06.20

Youth the focus of Fall River Lenten Mission

By Dave Jolivet Diocese of Fall River, Mass. † Friday, March 6, 2020

Jewish convert to Catholicism to lead New Bedford Parish Mission.

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Bishop’s Blog — Treasures of the Faith — The Priesthood and the Eucharist Page 11

Bishop Connolly students gathered to bury the Alleluia and burn palms in preparation for Ash Wednesday.

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Co-Editor

davejolivet@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — Father Thomas Washburn, rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral and pastor of Good Shepherd and St. Stanislaus parishes, which make up the Catholic Community of Central Fall River, sees a hunger out there. And it isn’t because of Lenten fasting. “My experience is that our youth are hungry for real encounters with the Lord that can only be found in the Sacraments,” he told The Anchor. “I think they are increasingly aware of the shallowness of what the world has to offer, and even if they can’t always put language to it, they know that there is something unique and special to be found in Reconciliation and the Eucharist.”

It’s no coincidence that more and more young people are becoming active members of the CCCFR. Youth have access to Teen Leadership meetings, Life Nights and Teen Bible Study as members of the collaborative. And it’s not ending there.

Leanne Nelson, director of Faith Formation at the three parishes felt the need to host a Lenten Mission specifically for

youth. “As we were preparing the various Spiritual and catechetical activities for Lent, Leanne wanted to do something specifically for the youth and young adults of our collaborative parishes,” Father Washburn said.

The Fall River parish collaborative is hosting the first-ever Lenten Mission for Youth at Good Shepherd Church, 1598 South Main Street. “The Mission will take place from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, March 16,” said Father Washburn. “We will begin with the opportunity for our young people to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is one of the most important experiences during Lent. God desires to shower mercy upon us all, and we want our young people to experience the freedom that is found when we receive that mercy. We will then have a celebration of the Holy Mass at 6 p.m. at which Father Matthew Gill will be the primary celebrant and homilist. He will offer a Lenten message targeted primarily at our youth. And the evening will conclude with an opportunity for fellowship in the Good Shepherd parish hall.”

Father Matt Gill, temporary administrator of Our Lady of the Assumption in 8 Turn to page 20

Portuguese Catholics embark on annual Lenten tradition

By Kenneth J. Souza Co-Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — On Saturday, March 28, a faithful group of Portuguese parishioners will once again be embarking on an eight-day Lenten pilgrimage, traveling to more than 50 sites and churches throughout the Fall River Diocese, continuing a Sacred tradition that can be traced back to their Azorean heritage.

Known as the Romeiros of New England 8 Turn to page three

March 6, 2020 †

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Christian convert Roy Schoeman will headline parish mission in New Bedford

By Kenneth J. Souza Co-Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

NEW BEDFORD — Roy Schoeman, a former Harvard

professor and frequent guest on EWTN, will be the keynote speaker during a special Lenten mission at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, 1359 Acushnet Avenue

in New Bedford, on Saturday, March 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The mission, entitled “An Encounter with Jesus and Mary,” will focus on Schoeman’s incred-

ible conversion to Catholicism.

Schoeman was born outside New York City of Jewish parents who had fled Nazi Germany. After receiving his Jewish education and formation under some of the most prominent rabbis, he went to college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then Harvard Business School, where he later joined the faculty as a professor of marketing. Midway through his teaching career, he received the grace of two supernatural experiences that resulted in his totally unanticipated conversion to Christianity.

In an online video interview with Shalom World, Schoeman described how these events would forever change his life.

“I went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is a scientific technical university, and I lost my belief in God there,” he said. “I lost my faith. I became essentially atheist. I found myself as a professor of marketing at Harvard Business School at the age of 29, and although it may sound rather surprising, that’s actually when the bottom fell out.”

Having been raised in the Jewish faith, Schoeman said he always thought he would “enter into a personal relationship with God” after his bar mitzvah at age 13.

“When that didn’t happen, it was actually one of the saddest days of my life,” he said. “But then I got distracted with worldly life, so to speak, high school and university and Harvard Business School and so forth. But I always thought there was something out there that would give my life real meaning.”

Schoeman’s first mystical encounter took place early one morning while he was out walking in a nature preserve.

“I had long since lost any hope in believing that God existed or anything like that,” he said.

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Romeiros group continues Lenten observance continued from page one

until early March, stopping off in local parishes to rest and eat while praying for forgiveness for their sins, all while giving thanks for the blessings in their lives.

“It is done during Lent because that is when Jesus offered Himself for us,” Arruda said. “As Romeiros, we do the same by offering ourselves to represent 8 Turn to page 13

† Diocese of Fall River † OFFICIAL Appointments

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has made the following appointments: Reverend Matthew M. Gill, Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville and Our Lady of Victory in Centerville to temporary Administrator of Our Lady of the Assumption in Osterville, Our Lady of Victory in Centerville, and Our Lady of Hope Chapel in West Barnstable Effective: February 14, 2020 ____________________

In 1983 two former residents of São Miguel, Azores, brought the Romeiros tradition to the Diocese of Fall River. This picture shows a group arriving at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Good Friday 1984. The tradition has sporadically occurred over the years until 2012 when Romeiros of New England (Romeiros da Nova Inglaterra) practiced the tradition each year since. (Anchor file photo) (Romeiros da Nova Inglaterra), this devoted group has practiced the annual pilgrimage since 2012, praying and spreading the Word of God to all those they encounter.

“The pilgrimage was founded here in our diocese by Joe Camara and (his nephew) Peter after a return flight home from completing the pilgrimage in São Miguel, Azores,” said Derek Arruda, one of the organizers. “This is the ninth year that the pilgrimage has happened.

With a lot of the original members not being able to participate due to illness and age, the group has gotten a little smaller, but the fire and desire still remain.”

The Romeiros — or pilgrims — will begin

their journey on Saturday, March 28 at St. Bernard Church in Assonet and will walk for eight days, traveling an average of 20 miles a day, and visiting more than 50 sites. They will conclude the morethan-150-mile round trip by returning to St. Bernard Church on Saturday, April 4 for a celebration of Holy Mass.

While traveling, the group will ask to be allowed entry into the various diocesan churches or Sacred sites to pray for the Church, its parishioners, priests, community, and other personal favors — or “graças” — that are collected along the way. If a location happens to be closed, they will simply pray outside the door. If Holy Mass or other ser-

vices are in progress, they will pray a short distance away so as not to interrupt.

The origins of the Romeiros dates back to the 16th-century in the Azores and has been maintained to this day by faithful followers for centuries on the island of São Miguel. It began when a large earthquake took place, causing landslides and much human loss and devastation to the local people.

After the island was struck with this deadly earthquake, the locals perceived it to be Divine punishment for their human actions. In response, they began to pray in large groups, walking every corner of the island from the end of February

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., Bishop of Fall River, has accepted the nomination of the Reverend Alberto Barattero, I.V.E., Provincial Superior of the Institute of the Incarnate Word - Province of the Immaculate Conception, and has made the following appointment: Reverend Juan Pablo Palacio, I.V.E., Parochial Vicar of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford Effective: March 7, 2020 ____________________ His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has made the following appointments: Reverend Gerard A. Hebert, Co-Pastor of Annunciation of the Lord and Saint Andrew the Apostle Parishes in Taunton to Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish in New Bedford Reverend Craig A. Pregana, Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish in New Bedford to Pastor of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Vincent de Paul Parishes in Attleboro while remaining Chairman of the implementation of V Encuentro for the Diocese of Fall River Reverend German Correa Agudelo, Parochial Vicar of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Vincent de Paul Parishes in Attleboro to Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish in New Bedford Effective: March 18, 2020 March 6, 2020 †

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Mary, Mother of the Church: Our identity as adopted children of God and Mary Immaculate Editor’s note: This begins a nine-part series focusing on the unifying centrality of Mary as Mother of the Church, the entire mystical Body of Christ. n our American culture there is a growing emphasis on personal identity. With the increase of political, gender, social and other self-made identities, we as Catholics risk getting lost in the contemporary “identity crisis.”

Lent is an opportune time to reclaim our fundamental identity as members of the mystical Body of Christ in the Catholic Church. We can only obtain knowledge of our true identity in light of Christian Revelation and the teachings of the Catholic Church, our Mother and teacher in the faith. The answers to the fundamental questions of “Who am I? Why was I created? Where am I going?” are found only in our identity as adopted children of God in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary.

In this series of articles, we will contemplate the gift of Mary under her title Mother of the Church, by considering who Mary is, why she was created as Mother of God, and what

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this tells us about our identity as Catholic disciples of Jesus in His “one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic” Church.

By pondering deeply the mystery of Christ’s will expressed from the cross to bestow on us His very own mother as our mother, we understand our need to deepen our relationship with Mary, and take her into our home, as did St. John. Mary is Mother of the Church even as Christ is Head of the Church. Even now as we practice our daily penance, fasting and almsgiving with compassion for our Savior during Lent, we are consoled to know that as Christians we have a living Spiritual mother who first walked this sorrowful “way of the cross” in union with Jesus. Our sorrowful and Immaculate Mother is entrusted by God with the mission to lead us individually and collectively as Church from this “valley of tears” to the glory of Heaven.

We can only know ourselves in reference to God, not in isolation from Him. Jesus, the Eternal Word

† March 6, 2020

has revealed the Father.

Jesus, a name which means, “God Saves,” makes visible the will of the Father Who sent His Word to dwell with us by His Incarnation in the womb of Mary. We are thereby called to communion with Christ, to become “other Christs” by our Baptism in order to live a life of grace made pos-

we come to understand our true identity. We discover, ever so tenderly, the strong support God has given us in His very own mother who stood at the foot of the cross, “When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own” (Jn 19:26-27).

Like St. John, we are also to take Mary to be our sible by the Sacraments of own mother by our personthe Church. These “visible al consecration to her, daily signs of invisible realiprayer of the Rosary and life ties,” as the Sacraments are of union with Jesus in Mary. called, enable us to conform She is the Immaculate One our lives to Jesus, the living who accompanies us still on Word of the Father. This our way to eternal Salvation conformity begins for us through the graces she gives in Mary, as it did for Jesus, us from her own Immacuborn of the Virgin Mary. At late Heart.

Pentecost the Church was The title of “Mother of born by the intercession of the Church” was expressed Mary and the coming of the by St. Pope Paul VI during Holy Spirit. By our Baptism the Second Vatican Council. we become brothers and Pope Paul VI entrusted the sisters of Christ, adopted work of the council to Mary. children of the Father and In making such an entrustsons in the Son, and therement, he was following the fore necessarily children of example of his predecessor, Mary like Christ. This facPope Pius XII. In 2019, Pope tor overcomes every effort Francis instituted the Monto minimize Mary, as it is day after Pentecost — the the will of God to give us a birth of the Church — with mother in the economy of the permanent memorial Salvation. celebrating Mary, Mother of The Mother of God the Church, emphasizing her revealed in Fatima, “God role of dispensing graces in wills to establish in the order to gather us as one in world devotion to my ImChrist her Son. maculate Heart.” Through St. Maximilian Kolbe, our discipleship with Jesus, the martyr of Auschwitz and “born of the Virgin Mary” “Martyr of Charity,” encour-

ages us in this spirit, “Let us open our hearts, let her come in, and let us generously give up our hearts, our souls, our bodies and all to her without any restriction or limitation. Let us devote ourselves to her completely without any limitation, to be her servants, her children, her unconditional possession and her property, so as to become, somehow, herself living, speaking, acting in this world” (KW 486). Let us trust Mary even as Jesus did. Mary will bring us to union with Jesus. She directs us to Heaven with her last pronounced words in Scripture, “Do whatever He tells you,” (Jn 2:5) pointing to Jesus even as Jesus points to His mother with His last words from the cross, “Behold your Mother” (Jn 19:27). Since Jesus told His disciples, “He who hears you hears Me” could we not also conclude that He who hears His mother hears Him? In my next column, we will discover how Mary, Mother of the Church is also the model of the domestic Church even as she is mother in the Holy Family.

Anchor guest columnist Grace Small and her husband Bill are parishioners of St. Vincent’s Parish in Attleboro and have recently made their solemn profession as Third Order Franciscans of the Immaculate on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. They are also attending classes with TINE at the Pastoral Center in Braintree, toward a certificate in Catechetical Studies.

Christian convert to head New Bedford parish mission continued from page two

“When from one moment to the next, the curtain between earth and Heaven disappeared, and I found myself in the presence of God. The most transformative aspect of this experience was to come into the intimate and deep knowledge that God Himself — the God Who not only created everything that exists, but created existence itself — not only knew me by name, not only cared about me, but had been watching over me controlling everything that ever happened to me.

“I now knew that the meaning and purpose of my life was to worship and serve my Lord and God and Master Who was revealing Himself to me. But I didn’t know His name and I couldn’t think of this as the God of the Old Testament. The picture of God that emerges from the Old Testament is a picture of a God far more distant and removed from ordinary mankind than this.”

After reflecting on this initial experience, Schoeman said he kept praying that he would find the right path to this loving God Who comforted him, and he was ready to follow whatever religion would lead him there — except Christianity.

“That desire to not become a Christian came from my being Jewish and I didn’t want to kind of go over to the other side; to what I saw as the enemy side,” Schoeman admitted.

Exactly one year later, Schoeman’s prayers were answered when he had a second mystical encounter

with the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“I went to sleep, and I was awoken by a hand gently on my shoulder and led into a room and left alone with the most beautiful young woman I could ever imagine,” he said. “And I knew without being told that it was the Blessed Virgin Mary.

When I found myself in her presence, all I wanted

“I

earlier was Jesus Christ.

Schoeman soon found himself on a quest to learn more about Christ and His Blessed Mother, and several visits to Marian shrines would cement his destiny to become a Catholic convert.

“There was a shrine to Our Lady of La Salette about 45 minutes from where I lived, so I used to go there three or four

became more Jewish than ever, because I became a Jew who was following the Jewish Messiah rather than a Jew who refused to follow the Jewish Messiah and was stuck in pre-Messianic Judaism.”

In his talks, Schoeman weaves together this personal witness testimony with discussion of the role of Judaism in Salvation history from the beginning to the end of time, as illuminated by Catholic

went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is a scientific technical university, and I lost my belief in God there,” he said. “I lost my faith. I became essentially atheist. I found myself as a professor of marketing at Harvard Business School at the age of 29, and although it may sound rather surprising, that’s actually when the bottom fell out.” to do was honor her appropriately. In fact, the first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘Oh my goodness, I wish I at least knew the Hail Mary.’”

In order to avoid admitting he didn’t know the prayer, Schoeman asked if she had any favorite prayers to her.

“She recited a prayer in Portuguese, and I didn’t know any Portuguese, so all I could do was try to remember the first few syllables phonetically and the next morning, as soon as I woke up, I wrote them down,” he said. “And later, after speaking to a Portuguese Catholic woman I identified the prayer as, ‘Oh Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us who have recourse to thee.’”

After this second encounter, Schoeman said it became clear to him that the God Who had revealed Himself a year

times a week to walk the grounds and to feel the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to commune with her,” Schoeman said. “And sometimes when I was there, there would be Mass going on, and whenever I was in the presence of a Mass going on, I was filled with a tremendous desire — you could almost say a lust or greed — to receive Communion, to receive the Eucharist even though I literally did not know what it was.

“Those two things led me into the Catholic Church: essentially knowing who the Blessed Virgin Mary is, and having a tremendous love and devotion to her, and also wanting to receive Communion. By entering the Catholic Church, I not only didn’t stop being Jewish, but the only way I can understand it is that I

doctrine. This gives the listener a deeper understanding of Judaism, both as a religion in itself and as a central component of Christian Salvation, and sheds light on the unfolding of Salvation history leading up to the second coming.

“If God had not revealed Himself to me and if the Blessed Virgin Mary had not revealed herself to me and brought me into the Catholic Church, I probably would have died and I probably would have been condemned,” Schoeman said. “I am

infinitely grateful that I received these experiences and was brought into the fullness of the t≠ruth, into a personal relationship with God, into knowing everything I wished to know as I was child growing up, and of — without being presumptuous — a reasonable hope of an eternity of bliss and love in the presence of God.” Schoeman has become a popular guest on EWTN, appearing on a number of shows. He is frequently invited to speak at Catholic parishes, conferences, and retreats throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America.

St. Anthony of Padua Parish is offering this oneday Lenten mission for everyone who wishes to attend. The cost is $25 per person and includes a bag lunch. Doors will open at 8 a.m. for registration.

The Sacrament of Confession will also be available and the Vigil Holy Mass.

For tickets or more information, visit www. saintanthonynewbedford. com, or call the parish rectory at 508-993-1691.

Director of Faith Formation

St. Mary’s Parish in Norton is seeking a Director of Faith Formation to plan, integrate, implement, oversee and evaluate the Faith Formation Program. The focus is on evangelizing and catechizing grades 1-9, and their families. The program has approximately 550 students, RCIA and Adult Formation.

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to Fr. Timothy Reis (frtimreis@gmail.com) or mail to One Power St. Norton, Mass. 02766. For more information visit fallriverdiocese.org and click on Employment Opportunities.

March 6, 2020 †

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Editorial

‘We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God’ (2 Cor 5:20) These words of St. Paul (in the title) are the focus of Pope Francis’ annual pass in vain, in the foolish illusion that we can control the times and means of Lenten message, which he broke down into four themes. our conversion to Him.” The pope’s first theme is: “The Paschal Mystery as the basis of conversion.”

The pope’s third theme is “God’s passionate will to dialogue with His chilThe Paschal Mystery is the death and Resurrection of Jesus (in Romance lan- dren.” He wrote, “The fact that the Lord once again offers us a favorable time for guages it is easier to see this connection, since in them the word for Easter our conversion should never be taken for granted and [should] stir us from our is “Pascua”). “Christian joy flows from listening to, and accepting, the Good sloth. Despite the sometimes tragic presence of evil in our lives, and in the life News of the death and Resurrection of Jesus, the mystery of a love ‘so real, so of the Church and the world, this opportunity to change our course expresses true, so concrete, that it invites us to a relationship of openness and fruitful God’s unwavering will not to interrupt His dialogue of Salvation with us. In dialogue’ (Christus Vivit, 117). Whoever believes this message rejects the lie the crucified Jesus, Who knew no sin, yet for our sake was made to be sin (cf. 2 that our life is ours to do with as we will. Rather, life is born of the love of Cor 5:21), this saving will led the Father to burden His Son with the weight of God our Father, from His desire to grant us life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). If our sins, thus, in the expression of Pope Benedict XVI, ‘turning of God against we listen instead to the tempting voice of the ‘father of lies’ (Jn 8:44), we risk Himself’ (Deus Caritas Est, 12). For God also loves His enemies (cf. Mt 5:43-48). sinking into the abyss of absurdity, and experiencing hell here on earth, as all “The dialogue that God wishes to establish with each of us through the Pastoo many tragic events in the personal and collective human experience sadly chal Mystery of His Son has nothing to do with empty chatter. Such chatter, bear witness.” determined by an empty and superficial curiosity, characterizes worldliness in Christus Vivit is an apostolic exhortation Pope Francis wrote in 2019 to every age; in our own day, it can also result in improper use of the media.” youth. In this Lenten message, he said that he “would like to share with evThe pope’s final theme is “A richness to be shared, not kept for oneself.” He ery Christian what I wrote to young people, ‘Keep your eyes fixed on the out- shared, “Putting the Paschal Mystery at the center of our lives means feeling stretched arms of Christ crucified, let yourself be saved over and over again. compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in the many And when you go to confess your sins, believe firmly in His mercy which frees innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life, from that of the unborn to that you of your guilt. Contemplate His Blood poured out with such great love, and of the elderly, and various forms of violence. They are likewise present in enlet yourself be cleansed by it. In this way, you can be reborn ever anew’ (No. vironmental disasters, the unequal distribution of the earth’s goods, human 123). Jesus’ Pasch is not a past event; rather, through the power of the Holy Spir- trafficking in all its forms, and the unbridled thirst for profit, which is a form it it is ever present, enabling us to see and touch with faith the Flesh of Christ in of idolatry. those who suffer.” In writing this, the pope is pointing to what Jesus said about Today too, there is a need to appeal to men and women of good will to share, the Final Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. by almsgiving, their goods with those most in need, as a means of personally The second theme of the message is “The urgency of conversion.” The pontiff participating in the building of a better world. We can and must go even furwrote, “It is good to contemplate more deeply the Paschal Mystery through which ther, and consider the structural aspects of our economic life.”

God’s mercy has been bestowed upon us. Indeed, the experience of mercy is only The pope then noted that from March 26 to 28 he has “convened a meeting possible in a ‘face to face’ relationship with the crucified and risen Lord ‘Who in Assisi with young economists, entrepreneurs and change-makers, with the loved me and gave Himself for me’ (Gal 2:20), in a heartfelt dialogue between aim of shaping a more just and inclusive economy. As the Church’s magistefriends. That is why prayer is so important in Lent. Even more than a duty, prayer rium has often repeated, political life represents an eminent form of charity is an expression of our need to respond to God’s love which always precedes and (cf. Pius XI, Address to Students, 18 December 1927). The same holds true for sustains us. Prayer can take any number of different forms, but what truly matters economic life, which can be approached in the same evangelical spirit, the spirit in God’s eyes is that it penetrates deep within us and chips away at our hardness of the Beatitudes. I ask Mary Most Holy to pray that our Lenten celebration will of heart, in order to convert us ever more fully to God and to His will. open our hearts to hear God’s call to be reconciled to Himself, to fix our gaze on “In this favorable season, then, may we allow ourselves to be led like Israel the Paschal Mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with into the desert (cf. Hos 2:14), so that we can at last hear our Spouse’s voice and Him. In this way, we will become what Christ asks His disciples to be: the salt allow it to resound ever more deeply within us. May we not let this time of grace of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:13-14).”

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† March 6, 2020

Daily Readings † March 7 - March 20

Sat. Mar. 7, Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119:1-2,4-5,7-8; Mt 5:43-48. Sun. Mar. 8, Second Sunday of Lent, Gn 12:1-4a; Ps 33:4-5,18-20,22; 2 Tm 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9. Mon. Mar. 9, Dn 9:4b-10; Ps 79:8-9,11,13; Lk 6:36-38. Tue. Mar. 10, Is 1:10, 16-20; Ps 50:8-9,16bc-17,21,23; Mt 23:1-12. Wed. Mar. 11, Jer 18:18-20; Ps 31:5-6,14-16; Mt 20:17-28. Thu. Mar. 12, Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1:1-4 ,6; Lk 16:19-31. Fri. Mar. 13, Gn 37:3-4,12-13a,17b-28a; Ps 105:16-21; Mt 21:33-43,45-46.

Sat. Mar. 14, Mi 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 103:1-4,9-12; Lk 15:1-3,11-32. Sun. Mar. 15, Third Sunday of Lent, Ex 17:3-7; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; Rom 5:1-2,5-8; Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15,19b-26,39a,40-42. Mon. Mar. 16, 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Pss 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Lk 4:24-30. Optional for any day this week: Ex 17:1-7; Ps 95:1-2,6-7ab,7c-9; Jn 4:5-42. Tue. Mar. 17, Dn 3:25,34-43; Ps 25:4-5ab,6-7bc,8-9; Mt 18:21-35. Wed. Mar. 18, Dt 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19. Thu. Mar. 19, 2 Sm 7:4-5a,12-14a,16; Ps 89:2-5,27,29; Rom 4:13,16-18,22; Mt 1:16,18-21,24a or Lk 2:41-51a. Fri. Mar. 20, Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:6c-11b,14,17; Mk 12:28-34.

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any can treat St. Joseph as an afterthought or some kind of ancient “player-to-benamed-later” in a package deal for the young virgin to whom he was espoused.

His role as “foster father” of Jesus can often be regarded as an expendable accessory.

As Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies show us, however, St. Joseph was the penultimate piece in a Divine cascade stretching all the way back to King David, Abraham and even Adam, and it was through him that Jesus, under Jewish law and mentality, would be a descendent of David. If we were to ask Jesus and Mary, I’m convinced that they would want us to grow to love Joseph just as they did.

2020 is a particularly important year to do so. We are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s naming St. Joseph as the patron of the Universal Church. It’s a special sesquicentennial that should influence everything the Church does this year, especially the way we prepare for and celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19.

And insofar as March 19 always falls within the 40 days of Lent, it is important to learn how to grow in devotion to St. Joseph during the Lenten season.

For those who live a rigorous fast, St. Joseph can occasionally be viewed as someone who rescues us from Lent rather than helps us to live it. His solemnity is a day of feasting, not fasting; abstinence from meat is abrogated if it’s on a Friday and, like on Sundays, Lenten fasts are lifted. The end result is that March 19 can be treated like an oasis

St. Joseph as a model for Lent rather than a day in the desert, and St. Joseph can come to seem an exception to Lent rather than a model.

But a model he is. As in other areas of Christian life, St. Joseph is a great exemplar for us of Lenten virtues that we do well to ponder and emulate.

He first teaches us about the silence needed in Lent.

The state of the desert is meant to be one of exterior and interior silence, when we remove ourselves from the distractions that crowd our lives with so much noise that we can’t hear God and so much clutter that we can’t see Him. St. Joseph is a man of silence, who didn’t speak a word in Sacred Scripture. Silence is a form of asceticism. It’s not so much an emptying but an active listening to the God Who in silence speaks.

In 2005, Pope Benedict stated that in a world like ours, which does not foster quiet and recollection, we all need to be “infected” with St. Joseph’s silence so that we can hear God’s voice.

Second, St. Joseph teaches us about the obedience Lent cultivates. On Palm Sunday, St. Paul tells us, “Have the same mindset that is in Christ Jesus, Who humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:5-8). Lent is about learning to obey as Christ obeyed. St. Joseph shows us the way. We see his prompt obedience in his response to God Who spoke to him in dreams not to be afraid to receive Mary into his home, to arise and flee with Jesus and Mary to Egypt, and to return with them to

Galilee. Each dream was asking him to do something life-changing: to alter his notion of what his Marriage would entail, to leave his job and his relatives behind and journey through the desert, to return once life was settled. In each of these circumstances, however, Joseph obeyed immediately.

He teaches us how to have Christ’s obedient mindset.

Third, he was obedi-

a humble sign of our need for God and our almsgiving is meant to form us, like Christ, not to be served but to serve and give our life for others (Mt 20:28).

St. Joseph learned humility through putting himself totally at the service of God’s plans for Jesus and Mary, and through the humble way he exercised leadership in leading the Immaculate Virgin and the Word-madeflesh in daily family prayers, in accordance with Jewish tradition.

Sixth, he is a man of chaste love. The devil’s supreme temptation is to corrupt love, since we were ent precisely because he created in the image of was faithful. He believed God Who is love, and are in what God was telling called to love God with him through the angel and all we’ve got and others as therefore did what God was Christ does. One cannot commanding. Pope Benebe holy without chastity, dict said in 2009, “Through- which helps to keep love out all of history, Joseph pure and unselfish (1 Thes is the man who gives God 4:3). In a promiscuous and the greatest display of trust, pornographic age, one that even in the face of such cannot understand Christ’s astonishing news.” During celibacy, the chaste celibacy this season in which we are of priests and religious in called to repent and believe His image, and the call to in the Gospel, Joseph is, chaste continence for those like Abraham, a true father outside of Marriage and in faith who shows us what chaste love of those within, believing the Good News St. Joseph is a model and looks like. intercessor who shows our Fourth, he shows us culture how to turn away how to be a “just man” (Mt from sin and be faithful to 1:19). To be just means to the Gospel. be “righteous” or in right Seventh, he teaches us relationship with God, in how to prepare well for short, to be holy. Lent is a death. On Ash Wednesday, season of training in holiwe were reminded that we ness and Joseph shows us are dust and unto dust we what holiness is. It’s to “ad- shall return. St. Joseph is just” ourselves to God’s will, the patron saint of a happy something he constantly death because, Christian did and teaches us to do. piety has always believed, Fifth, he is a man of he died in Jesus’ and Mary’s humility. Lent is a season of arms, entrusting them to humility: our penitence is God the Father’s provi-

dence and receiving from them prayers and comfort.

He shows us not just how to die in their arms but to live in them, as they seek to accompany us, as they did him, through death into eternity.

Lastly, St. Joseph shows us how to protect and provide for others. Lent is a time when we rediscover that we are our brothers’ keepers, called to be Good Shepherds who protect others from harm and good Samaritans who cross the road to care for those in need. St. Joseph shows us how. He guarded Mary’s life and reputation against the possibility of death by stoning as a result of her having become pregnant outside of marital intimacy. He protected Jesus and Mary from Herod’s henchman. He provided for them through his hard work, which was a constant almsgiving done out of love. Pope Leo XIII wrote, “The reasons why St. Joseph must be considered the special patron of the Church chiefly arise from his having been in his day the lawful and natural guardian, head and defender of the Holy Family.

It is thus fitting and most worthy of Joseph’s dignity that, in the same way that he once kept unceasing holy watch over the family of Nazareth, so now does he protect and defend with his Heavenly patronage the Church of Christ.”

This Lenten season, and 2020 as a whole, is a time for us to place ourselves anew under Joseph’s protection and patronage, in imitation of Jesus and Mary.

Anchor columnist Father Roger Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

March 6, 2020 †

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Healing “The prison-house in which I live is falling to decay. But God renews my spirit’s strength, within these walls of clay.” —Frances Ellen Watkins Harper he Lenten season thus begins with a reminder of our mortality, and a call to empty ourselves of the clutter and allow God to begin the restoration we need. Lent brings the repentant sinner into a moment of confrontation with our bodies by calling us to fast. It’s become fashionable to turn fasting away from physical discomfort to a more metaphysical concept about leaving behind unkind behavior in favor of being nice to others, but this limits the power of God’s renewal.

Many people are willing to endure the physical discomfort of fasting during Lent because it is tightly wound with a desire for transformation, of the body and the soul. We feel good when we give up something that we know

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has become an unhealthy attachment. Once a year we are given a Spiritual rationale for trimming down and giving our livers a much-needed rest. This sense of accomplishment reveals the God-given triad of body-mind-soul.

If Easter brings us back to our old way of living then we may need to dive deeper into why this habit was only worth giving up for 40 days. Sister Joan Chittister touches on this in her reflection on this ancient Lenten practice. “Fasting was supposed to add something to our lives as well as take something away. It was meant to sensitize us to life more than it was to deprive us of it.”

This intriguing concept of being sensitized to life is an important lesson to those of us who feel that life is rushing past. It also sheds light on the malaise that has seeped into the

† March 6, 2020

youth culture and infected them with an existential crisis. They are not asking what is the meaning of life, but is life worth living. Look at the disturbing statistics about mental illness and addiction among teens: one in eight suffer from depression; one in seven have eating

disorders; one in three suffer from severe anxiety; and one in four self-injure.

We keep looking for the best youth program to reconnect our youth with the Church when they are silently screaming for healing. If ever there was a need for a Church that is a field hospital it must begin with them.

It is not easy to pinpoint the root of this

discontent among our youth, but many report a feeling of profound loneliness, even while they are connected to hundreds of people through social media. We learned from the recent Synod on Youth and the Fifth Encuentro that young people need to be accompanied. Christian psychologist Roy Petitfils describes accompaniment as “stepping into kids’ hearts and lives, accompanying them by walking alongside them, pointing out pitfalls, and offering suggestions, guidance, and to challenge them to navigate what can be difficult paths.” As much as we want to give youth rich catechesis and uplifting Liturgies, the priority must be to find adults who are willing to share their journey.

Young people who are in the throes of an emotional crisis are more likely to see a person of faith before they seek professional help because mental illness is still stigmatized in our society. Professional youth ministers are not easy to find in these days of limited parish resources, but this should not limit the Church from responding to the needs of our youth. We don’t need more “youth ministers,” but more people willing to minister to youth. The most important structural change we can make in our Church is to help adults recognize in themselves the power to transform the lives of a young person by being present to them. We

do not need theologians to pass along the faith. As Roy Petitfils points out, “Our job isn’t to put Jesus in their hearts; it’s to help them realize that He is already there and help remove the clutter, the debris and other interference that blocks the sound of God’s still small voice within them.”

The Church is filled with the tools that can help young people. The Eucharist reminds us that our Good Fridays have an Easter Resurrection.

Reconciliation unburdens us from the bad decisions we have made, and the hurt inflicted on us by others. Prayer calms our inner turmoil, and when done communally, unites our suffering with others. The Church is also filled with sincere adults who know how to use these tools.

Many people began their Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday with a sincere desire to transform their lives through prayer, fasting and giving alms.

When we fast, we empty our stomachs to become more present to our bodies. This helps us to empty ourselves of the obstacles that keep us from hearing God’s call to go beyond our comfort zone. Sister Joan explains, “In the Eucharist, Jesus changed for my sake. In fasting, I was being called to change for something far beyond my own sake.” Our youth are praying that you are listening to God. Anchor columnist Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

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Finding the great person inside

he concierge handed me a business card with the cell number for the Uber driver. I texted him. I was in a crafts shop when my phone pinged. The retired educator I had been speaking with paused her story as I checked my phone. The driver had replied that he had to go to school at that time, but did I wish him to ask his mom to take me? I asked the owner if his mom driving was standard policy for the town. The retired educator immediately offered to drive me to the school the next morning. At the end of the PD Talk one of the participating educators took me back to the hotel. Even as a visitor to the small town, I had been assigned a place within their community.

I was the “Visiting Educator.” Throughout my visit, I was conscious of each community member sharing God’s love with me.

The first flight home touched down in a large metropolitan hub airport. I disembarked.

Right in front of our gate was a middle-aged woman lying on the floor. As I walked towards the scene, another woman proceeded to kneel beside the prone figure. She was telling the airport security what she had seen happen when the woman fell. Without so much as a glance back, people continually streamed by on both sides of the fallen woman. Debating in my mind whether emergency procedures were well in hand or if my assistance were needed, I glanced at the guard with the walkie-talkie. His expression was one of boredom and contempt. He was pointedly looking away from the person on the floor. My icy stare towards him caught his eye and overlapped with the kneeling woman’s further inquiry about emergency personnel. The guard finally snapped into responding. A stretcher was approaching.

I stood there for a moment. I was deeply conscious of, and saddened by, what I had lost leaving that small town. Yet, the part I wish to focus upon is not the guard’s inaction, but his final choice to participate in assisting the fallen woman. That internal change of heart is what is meant by conversion. Conversion of heart is followed by changes in observable actions. Lent is about the call to conversion of heart for each of us.

Jesus tells the scholar of the law that the greatest Commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22: 37-39). On a good day, our minds readily acknowledge that part of the depth of our love of God is revealed

in the love and compassion we share with our neighbors. Yet, on a busy day, swamped with work and deadlines, all the while barraged by society’s messages of “us” versus “them,” we may fall away from hearing and responding to God’s voice. We may even shift that balance point closer to loving me more than my neighbor.

Our Lenten practices are much more than small deficits we choose to accept asking they be accepted for penance for our sins. Each of us is asked to define for ourselves some self-sacrifice and some self-refinement practices. The sacrifice tones down the world’s voice (and my habits).

The refinement practices allow reflection and opportunities for growth in compassion. We begin these dual Lenten practices by following Jesus’ example of separating from (or turning down the voices of the world) so as to spend more time in conversation with the Father.

Together these sacrifice and growth practices

invite us to shift our focus slightly back from me more towards my neighbor as myself.

One very visual story of finding and listening to God’s voice is found in the tale of Elijah in the cave on Mount Horeb (1 Kgs 19: 8 -14).

Elijah travels 40 days to Mount Horeb. Elijah ignores the heavy wind, the earthquake, and the fire. Elijah moves to the mouth of the cave to better hear God’s gentle whisper.

We are akin to Elijah in that we instinctively recognize the voice of God when we hear it. Amazingly, the appeal of whatever positive new avenue we choose to explore for Lent is already the beginning of our response to God’s whisper. As we continue our Lenten journey, we each discern new ways or places where the outward sign of our growth is acting to bring God’s love to others. Each year we find and polish a tiny new part of the great person God designed and created us to be.

What are you doing for Lent? Check the parish bulletin for Lenten talks, find a few friends and volunteer together to make a difference, choose a book to guide reflection and growth, maybe read a biography of one of the saints, or better still follow that gentle whisper from inside guiding you to go forth and do.

Anchor columnist Dr. Helen J. Flavin, Ph.D., is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer.

March 6, 2020 †

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Pastors named for Attleboro and New Bedford parishes

FALL RIVER − Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., has announced changes in assignments for three priests in the Fall River Diocese.

Father Craig A. Pregana, now the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in New Bedford, has been appointed pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes in Attleboro.

The two parishes are linked as the Roman Catholic Community of Attleboro and operate under one administration.

Father Gerard A. Hebert has been appointed pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish to succeed Father Pregana. Father Hebert currently serves as a co-pastor of Annunciation of the Lord Parish and St. Andrew

the Apostle Parish, both in Taunton.

At the same time, Father German Correa Agudelo will join Father Hebert at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish as parochial vicar. He is now serving in that same capacity in the parishes of the Roman Catholic Community of Attleboro.

All of these appointments become effective March 18, 2020.

A new assignment has not yet been announced for Father Dariusz Kalinowski, who last month informed Bishop da Cunha of his intent to resign from pastoral leadership of the Attleboro parishes when a successor could be named to replace him.

Father Pregana will re-

DIOCESAN DIRECTORY

turn to a familiar place with his new pastorate. In 1989, he began his priestly ministry at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro as a parochial vicar for six years after already one year there as a deacon prior to his ordination. Later, he was also at the parish for a short time as a temporary administrator.

Among his other assignments, Father Pregana directed the diocesan mission in Guaimaca, Honduras, for eight years, returning in 2012 when he began as pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Fluent in Spanish, he will be able to celebrate the weekly Mass in that language offered on Sundays at St. Vincent de Paul Church and to provide pastoral care to the Spanishspeaking members of the community.

Father Hebert was ordained to the priesthood in 1981. He served as a paro-

chial vicar in several parishes and became a pastor in 1996 at St. George Parish in Westport. Other pastorates followed through the years at St. Anthony Parish, East Falmouth, and St. Jude the Apostle Parish, Taunton.

Last year, he began his current post as co-pastor of the two Taunton parishes that make up the Taunton Parishes South Collaborative.

Father German is a priest of the Archdiocese of Medellín in his native Columbia. With the approval of his archdiocese, he has been serving in the Fall River Diocese since 2006, ministering to Spanish-speaking Catholics. He has at different times served in parishes in New Bedford, Fall River, and Attleboro.

In another change for the Attleboro area, the Roman Catholic Community of Attleboro announced in its bulletin this past week-

end (Feb. 29-March 1) that Bishop da Cunha has made arrangements for the weekly Mass celebrated in Portuguese to resume at St. Vincent de Paul Church, beginning Sunday, March 8, at 9 a.m. This Mass is being returned on a trial basis to provide time to measure the level of interest and participation in it over successive weeks. Once Father Pregana is in place as pastor, he will help to determine the sustainability of the Portuguese Sunday Mass on a permanent basis.

Bishop da Cunha expressed his gratitude to Father Flavio Gillio and Father Francisco Tchipindo of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette of Attleboro who have agreed with their approval of their community’s provincial to share the responsibility of celebrating the Mass in Portuguese each week.

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On February 23 Fall River seminarians Thiago Menezes Santos, John Garabedian, Christopher Hughes, and Brian Connors were Instituted to the Ministry of Lector

by Bishop Manuel A. Cruz, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark (center). Here they are pictured with Msgr. Joseph Reilly, rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary.

This is their first official step toward the priesthood. The Institution was held at Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Newark, N.J.

Bishop’s Blog Editor’s note: In order to keep readers informed of what the bishop is writing about in his blog, The Anchor will run one or more weekly blogs from Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., that have appeared since our last publication date. To keep up with the Bishop’s Blog as they appear, visit fallriverdiocese.org and click on “Read the Bishop’s Blog.”

Treasures of the Faith — The Priesthood and Eucharist Before I begin the main topic of this week’s blog, I want to say a few words to acknowledge the loss so many in our diocese are experiencing with the recent unexpected death of Father John J. Perry. Father John was both a trusted friend and collaborator to me, and I feel that loss as well.

His funeral at St. Joseph’s Church in Fall River was filled with his family, many friends, parishioners from all of the places he served, and a large representation of his brother priests. I was so pleased to celebrate the Mass, and Father Bob Oliveira offered a wonderful homily, sharing stories that reflected so well the dedicated priesthood of Father John. He loved being a priest and he loved people.

His kindness will remain his legacy, and I am confident that God is now sharing His kindness with him.

The Treasure of the Eucharist Recently we’ve seen the alarming results of a national survey published by the Pew Research Center uncovering the following about Catholics and their understanding of the Eucharist.

“Half of Catholics in the United States (50 percent) correctly answer a question about official Church teachings on Transubstantiation — that during Consecration, the bread and wine actually become the Body and Blood of Christ. The other half of Catholics incorrectly say the Church teaches that the bread and wine used in Communion are just symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ (45 percent) or

say they are not sure (four percent)” (U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey | Pew Research Center).

In the Mass, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is represented. In his Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, the title comes from the first line of the document in English; The Church draws her life from the Eucharist, Pope St. John Paul II explained the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

“Crowned by the Resurrection, in the Mass involves a most special presence which — in the words of Paul VI — ‘is called “real” not as a way of excluding all other types of presence as if they were “not real,” but because it is a presence in the fullest sense: a substantial presence whereby Christ, the GodMan, is wholly and entirely present’” (Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 15).

He goes on in this 2003 letter, to teach what needs to be at the heart of all seeking to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, is an acceptance that cannot be explained, one that goes beyond our human comprehension.

“Truly the Eucharist is a mysterium fidei,” Pope John Paul II states, “a mystery which surpasses our understanding and can only be received in faith, as is

often brought out in the catechesis of the Church Fathers regarding this Divine Sacrament: “Do not see — St. Cyril of Jerusalem exhorts — in the bread and wine merely natural elements, because the Lord has

expressly said that they are His Body and His Blood: faith assures you of this, though your senses suggest otherwise.”

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” provides more evidence of the teaching of this truth within our Catholic faith. The “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” containing the universal doctrines of the Catholic faith, originated with a recommendation made at the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985. On June 25, 1992, Pope John Paul II officially approved the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and on Dec. 8, 1992, published the “Catechism” with an apostolic constitution.

In Section 1333 of the “Catechism,” one finds this about the Eucharist and may explain the possible confusion with Catholics

to mistake the Eucharist as a symbol of Jesus’ Body and Blood, and not as it is, truly Jesus present to us, Body, Blood, soul, and Divinity.

The “Catechism” states, “At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ’s Body and Blood.

Faithful to the Lord’s command the Church continues to do, in His memory and until His glorious return, what He did on the eve of His Passion: “He took bread.” “He took the cup filled with wine.” The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of Creation. Thus in the Offertory, we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine, fruit of the “work of human hands,” but above all as “fruit of the earth” and “of the vine” — gifts of the Creator. The Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who “brought out bread and wine,” a prefiguring of her own offering.”

Yet, we can be assured of the validity of this important teaching, given to us by Jesus, and upheld for more

than 2,000 years by word and tradition. Again, turning for verification in the “Catechism”: “By the consecration, the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ Himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: His Body and His Blood, with His soul and His Divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651)” (“Catechism of the Catholic Church” — The Sacrament of the Eucharist, 1413).

The Archdiocese of Boston’s Year of the Eucharist will begin on Holy Thursday 2020 and continue through Feast of Corpus Christi 2021. I look forward to the many opportunities this will provide for all of us to learn more about the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Catholic faith.

On Wednesday, February 12, Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary blessed me with an invitation to celebrate the Mass for the Institution of Acolytes.

These First Year Theologians will primarily aid at the altar and may also assist the deacon and the priest in Liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of the Mass.

Please join me in congratulating these newlyinstalled acolytes on this early step in their journey towards ordination to the priesthood.

Sincerely yours in Christ, Bishop da Cunha

March 6, 2020 †

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Hunting the shoals of herring “With our nets and gear we’re faring on the wild and wasteful ocean.

“It’s there that we hunt and earn our bread as we hunt the bonny shoals of herring.” t isn’t often that I awake to the words or refrain of a song. Yet that is what happened just a few

I

mornings ago. The refrain played over and over again in my semi-conscious mind and I could hear Liam Clancy deliver this refrain, “As we hunt the bonny shoals of herring.”

Now I have never been a fan of herrings, but I do recall that in my childhood years herring did show up

on our family table on occasion. I remember because of my struggles in separating the flesh from the myriad bones. So, herring or no herring, this refrain from Ewan MacColl’s “Shoals of Herring” tends to echo in the recesses of my mind. Perhaps it is a reminder that we are now

in the Lenten season and fish may be an item on the menu.

As a child I often accompanied my dad when he went fishing on Sunday afternoons. No, we did not skip church. Dad would carry a very long fishing pole, probably three or four times the length of a standard fishing rod. We always returned home with a couple of pike for the family table.

Subsequently, though I did a bit of fishing myself, I was never too successful with my fishing pole.

Visitors to Kalaupapa often ask me whether many of our residents fish the waters here. I answer that some do. Sister Richard of happy memory was known as the Fishing Nun and Sister Barbara Jean fishes on occasion when she can free herself from various chores. Sometimes I have to hold my breath when

she stands on the very edge of the dock because, if she were to hook a big one, it might pull her in and I am not known for my water rescue prowess. John Arruda told me today that he once caught a 50-pounder.

No, it did not pull him in.

So let us thank the

Lord for the fish on our plates during this Lenten season. Thank the Lord for the bountiful catches which help put food on the tables of fishermen’s families. And finally thank the Lord for those brave men and women who plough the wild ocean as they hunt the bonny shoals of herring.

Anchor columnist Father Patrick Killilea, SS.CC., is pastor of St. Francis Parish in Kalaupapa, Hawaii.

Fall River city-wide Lenten Portuguese Mission FALL RIVER — The four Portuguese parishes of the city of Fall River will share one Lenten Mission in Portuguese. The Preacher will be Father João de Chaves Bairos, SCI, a priest of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (the Dehonians) and a native of the island of Santa Maria. Each night, from Monday, March 23 through Thursday, March 26, the schedule will consist of Confessions at 6 p.m., to 12

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be followed by a Mass with the Mission Homily at 7 p.m..

The locations are: Monday, March 23: St. Michael Church, 189 Essex Street, Fall River Tuesday, March 24: St. Anthony Church, 48 Sixteenth Street, Fall River Wednesday, March 25: Espírito Santo Church, 311 Alden Street, Fall River Thursday, March 26: Santo Christo Church, 185 Canal Street, Fall River.

Romeiros group continues Lenten observance continued from page three

Christ to the world.”

Arruda explained that the bulging backpack each pilgrim carries represents the cross that Christ carried on the road to Calvary; the colored shawl represents the cloak the Romans used to mock Jesus during His trial; the decorative head scarves

are meant to resemble the crown of thorns; and the wooden staff is a standin for the reed stick they gave to Christ.

Following is the schedule for the 2020 Romeiros. For more information about the Lenten pilgrimage, please contact Derek Arruda at

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, March 8 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from St. Francis Xavier Church in East Providence, R.I.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass

on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, March 15 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from St. Anthony Church in Taunton

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, March 8 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Christopher M. Peschel, Parochial Administrator of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Westport

Sunday, March 15 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Richard D. Wilson, Vicar General and Pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton.

774-451-8358 or email Romeiros.2012@gmail. com.

Saturday, March 28 — St. Bernard Church, Assonet: 5 to 5:30 a.m.; — St. John Neumann Church, East Freetown: 9 to 10 a.m.; — Our Lady of Fatima Church, New Bedford: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; — St. Mary Church, New Bedford: 2:30 to 2:45 p.m.; — St. Francis Xavier Church, Acushnet: 3:15 to 3:30 p.m.; — St. Joseph-St. Therese Church, New Bedford: 4:45 to 5 p.m.; — Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, New Bedford: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Sunday, March 29 — St. Anthony of Padua Church, New Bedford: 5:15 to 5:30 a.m.; — Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, New Bedford: 5:45 to 6:15 a.m.; — Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, New Bedford: 6:30 to 6:45 a.m.; — St. Mary Church, Fairhaven: 7:45 to 9 a.m.; — St. Lawrence Martyr Church, New Bedford: 10 to 10:15 a.m.; — Our Lady’s Chapel, New Bedford: 10:30 to 10:45 a.m.; — Our Lady of the Assumption Church, New Bedford: 11 to 11:15 a.m.; — Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church, New Bedford: 11:30 to 11:45 a.m.; — Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, New Bedford: 12 noon to 1 p.m.; — St. Mary Church,

South Dartmouth: 2:15 to 2:45 p.m.; — St. Julie Billiart Church, North Dartmouth: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Monday, March 30 — St. George Church, Westport: 7:30 to 8 a.m.; — Our Lady of Grace Church, Westport: 10 to 10:15 a.m.; — Espirito Santo Church, Fall River: 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.; — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, Fall River: 3:15 to 3:30 p.m.; — St. Anthony of Padua Church, Fall River: 3:50 to 4 p.m.; — Holy Trinity Church, Fall River: 5:15 to 5:30 p.m.; — Blessed Trinity Parish, Fall River: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Tuesday, March 31 — Good Shepherd Church, Fall River: 5:30 to 6 a.m.; — St. Stanislaus Church, Fall River: 6:15 to 6:30 a.m.; — Santo Christo Church, Fall River: 8 to 9 a.m.; — St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fall River: 9:15 to 9:45 a.m.; — Holy Name Church, Fall River: 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.; — St. Joseph Church, Fall River: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; — St. Michael Church, Fall River: 12:45 to 1 p.m.; — St. Thomas More Church, Somerset: 3 to 4 p.m.; — St. Louis de France Church, Swansea: 4:30 to 4:45 p.m.; — St. John of God Church, Somerset: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Wednesday, April 1

— St. Francis of Assisi Church, Swansea: 6 to 6:30 a.m.; — St. Dominic Church, Swansea: 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.; — Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Seekonk: 1 to 2 p.m.; — Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, Seekonk: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Thursday, April 2 — St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church, South Attleboro: 6:45 to 8:30 a.m.; — St. John the Evangelist Church, Attleboro: 11:30 a.m. to 12 noon; — St. Vincent de Paul Church, Attleboro: 3 to 4 p.m.; — La Salette Shrine, Attleboro: 5:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Friday, April 3 — St. Nicholas of Myra Church, North Dighton: 11 a.m. to 12 noon; — Annunciation of the Lord Church, Taunton: 1 to 2 p.m.; — St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Taunton: 2:30 to 3 p.m.; — St. Mary Church, Taunton: 3:30 to 4 p.m.; — Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Chapel, Taunton: 4:15 to 4:30 p.m.; — St. Jude the Apostle Church, Taunton: 5 to 5:15 p.m.; — St. Anthony Church, Taunton: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Saturday, April 4 — St. Ann Church, Raynham: 6:30 to 7 a.m.; — Holy Family Church, East Taunton: 9:30 to 10 a.m.; — St. Bernard Church, Assonet: 3:30 to 4 p.m.

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Coyle and Cassidy announces enhanced special education program TAUNTON — Research estimates that 14 percent of students attending public schools in the United States have some sort of learning difference. Many families desire a Catholic education for their children and traditionally, Catholic schools were not properly equipped with supports for students with learning differences. Two years ago, Coyle and Cassidy High School introduced a special education program in order to serve a growing need in the overall student population. This program has helped many students achieve a faith-based college-preparatory high school education which

has lead them to attend the college of their choice.

Coyle and Cassidy is pleased to announce that this program has been en-

“W

complete change and truly love school and learning!”

Kerry Peroni, president of the SEAL Foundation, feels blessed that Coyle and

e have been receiving a growing number of inquiries from families whose children have learning differences, and they are thrilled when they tour our school and realize they can have a Catholic education,” indicated, Kathy St. Laurent, Principal of Coyle and Cassidy and Bishop Connolly. hanced to include a director of Special Education as well as a full-time special education teacher. William Hakeem was appointed the director of Special Education, tasked to overseeing the special education programs at Coyle and Cassidy High and Middle

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School as well as Bishop Connolly High School.

Most recently, Kathryn MacLellan has been hired to provide full-time special

† March 6, 2020

education teaching services for Coyle and Cassidy High School and Middle School students.

“We have been receiving a growing number of inquiries from families whose children have learning differences, and they are thrilled when they tour our school and realize they can have a Catholic education,” indicated, Kathy St. Laurent, principal of Coyle and Cassidy and Bishop Connolly. “Our class sizes are a more suitable learning environment, and with the guidance of our special education professionals, these students thrive and get accepted into their preferred colleges.

It is such a blessing to see struggling students make a

Cassidy saw the benefit of a partnership to provide special education supports and the expertise of Hakeem and MacLellan.

“For families of children who learn differently, there exists a complicated navigation process that includes searching for a school and team of educators who can provide the proper instructional and emotional supports their child needs to be successful. The SEAL Foundation was created to help families with that journey and give them a choice of where their child could be educated and thrive.

We are thrilled to see the growth of this program and the positive impact it is having for families

and students who simply learn differently.” The SEAL Foundation provides funding for special education services and staff development, as well as advocacy support and technical assistance to a broad community of nonpublic schools through its Pathways Approach Program.

MacLellan is thrilled to be a part of this growing program. “There is such an overwhelming need for children with learning differences to find the right fit, and Coyle and Cassidy offers such an open and welcoming community. I have already seen progress with many of my students.

The teachers, administration and staff have been wonderful and supportive of this program.”

Hakeem, director of Special Education, concludes, “The addition of Kathryn is such a blessing for these students and their families.”

For more information about Coyle and Cassidy’s special education program, call 508-823-6164 or visit www.coylecassidy. com/special-education.

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All Saints Catholic School seventh- and eighth-graders rose to victory over a three-way tie at the Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools Catholic Schools Challenge. Students from each of the five Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools competed in a variety of contests — academic, sports and creative — at this annual event.

High School teens are invited to join 2,500 other Catholic teen-agers from around New England at the University of Rhode Island campus this summer, July 10-12, for the Steubenville East Youth Conference.

This is an amazing weekend. Come be surrounded with other Catholic teens and be restored. We will need chaperones, so parents, please pray about helping us in this way. Text Lori Lavigne, 508-233-3312, if you are interested in joining this epic weekend.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about diocesan youth.

If schools, parish Religious Education programs or home-schoolers have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, please email them to: schools@ anchornews.org

American Heritage Girls troop MA3712 celebrated its mid-year Court of Awards ceremony. Service stars were presented to girls who served their local communities both as a troop and individually. Badges earned as a troop included World Heritage, Textile Arts, and Seven Cs of History. Many additional badges from all six frontiers of emphasis were awarded. The frontiers include: Our Heritage, Personal Well-Being, Family Living, The Arts, Science and Technology, and Outdoor Skills.

March 6, 2020 †

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Taunton Deanery invites area faithful to a time of unity and prayer in Lenten Day Retreat March 21

By Dave Jolivet Co-Editor

davejolivet@anchornews.org

TAUNTON — Catholic faithful in the greater Taunton area, much like folks across the Diocese of Fall River, have experienced changes and challenges that go along with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha’s vision of “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope.”

At the onset of the endeavor, Bishop da Cunha shared with diocesan faithful, “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope begins by celebrating all the gifts we have been given in a spirit of gratitude that acknowledges the strengths we want to

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build upon. We thank God for the opportunities and challenges we face as coworkers who have received the grace to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

There is no need for us to be anxious or fearful about the future no matter how difficult things may seem.

If we are true to our mission as disciples called to proclaim and live the Good News, renewal will happen, by the grace of God, in an atmosphere of confidence and hope in the Lord.

“There is a lot of work to be done. To be successful, we must embrace these opportunities and challenges together.”

† March 6, 2020

Since the beginning of “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope” several changes have taken place in all deaneries, with the Taunton Deanery witnessing the emergence of parish alliances in the north and south ends of the city.

It is only with unity and collaboration that progress can be made. It is with this in mind that the Taunton Deanery is hosting a Lenten Retreat Day on March 21 at Annunciation of the Lord Church, 31 First Street in Taunton from 10 a.m. to closing Benediction beginning at 1:45 p.m.

Unity is the theme of the retreat day.

Along with Mass, Confession will be available and talks will be given by Father Freddie Babiczuk, copastor of Taunton Catholic Church North; Holy Cross Father Brad Metz, pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Easton; and Sister Marie Therese, a member of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light.

“We are trying a day of recollection instead of a mission because people seem to have more familiarity with a day of recollection than with a mission,” Father Babiczuk told The Anchor. “It might also be easier for people, with their schedules, to commit to a single day for an extended period of time rather than for four nights in a row.”

Father Babiczuk also told The Anchor that unity will be the theme of his homily, saying, “Jesus prayed for unity at the Last Supper.”

“The bishop is inviting

parishes in a given area to work together as a unit to better fulfill the mission of the Church,” he continued.

“It is not just parishes in a collaborative that have to work together, but in some cases parishes in a given area are challenged to work together to better fulfill the mission of the Church. A good illustration of this is the Pro-Life Committee at Holy Family Parish in East Taunton who enable parishioners from the greater Taunton area to go on the March for Life in Washington.”

“A Spiritual retreat is an opportunity to leave behind the usual distractions and to carve out time to come away to be with the Lord, to look within and allow Him to refresh us with His loving and merciful gaze,” Sister Marie Therese told The Anchor. “The purpose of a retreat is metanoia, an inner change, a turning away from sin and coming back to the Lord Who loves us infinitely. A Spiritual retreat helps us along our journey of conversion and gives us tools to grow in our relationship with God. Whereas a parish mission is a special pastoral effort in the Catholic Church which focuses on preaching and giving instruction to Catholics.”

Sister Marie Therese also said the day is an opportunity for people in the area to “Encounter the Lord and His healing love and especially for those who are carrying any wounds or burdens” from the changes and challenges facing parishes.

“I am planning to speak about our call to imitate the early Christian communities as found in Acts (‘See how they loved one another’)”, Sister Marie Therese added. “We are one mind, one heart, and have the same purpose if we are rooted in Christ in the Eucharist — in Jesus we are united in Holy Communion.

“Lent is a Sacred time to be renewed and transformed in Christ and to be reminded of our mission — to go deeper in our communion with Christ through prayer, fasting and almsgiving to go within and make space for God in our busy lives, to deepen our communion with the Holy Trinity, the source of all love and life. Our availability to God and making time for prayer, penance, and almsgiving throughout the day will give us the grace to be more open and available to others.”

All are invited to attend and sharpen their focus on their personal Lenten journey. A light lunch will be provided.

Fall River Deanery Mission A Fall River Area Deanery Lenten Mission will take place from Monday, March 30 to Thursday, April 2 at St. Mary’s Cathedral each evening at 6 p.m. Confessions followed by Mass and the Mission presentation.

The Mission will also be given those same days at the 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Father James Ferreira from the Archdiocese of New York will present this year’s Mission.

Diocesan Deanery Events ATTLEBORO DEANERY The Attleboro District St. Vincent de Paul is hosting area legislators on March 21. Issues facing the poor and those in need in the area will be discussed with the area’s State Senators and Representatives from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Mary Lyon Hall on the Wheaton College Campus, Route 123 in Norton The event is in collaboration with other social service agencies, the forum will address homelessness, low-income housing, transportation and other services needed to improve the lives of neighbors in need. Invited legislators include Senators Paul Feeney and Rebecca Rausch and Representatives James Hawkins, Steven Howitt, Elizabeth Poirier and Jay Barrows.

Looking for a Spiritual pick-me-up? La Salette Retreat Center in Attleboro has published its complete schedule of 2020 retreat programs and days of recollection. Visit its website at: www. lasaletteretreatcenter.org. Or, send for a catalog of programs at: La Salette Retreat Center, 947 Park Street, Attleboro, Mass., 02703.

CAPE COD DEANERY Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 482 Stoney Brook Road, Brewster is hosting a Parish Mission from March 16-18 at 7 p.m. The theme is “Called —Formed—Sent,” by Father Skip Negley, M.S. (director of Ministry to Priests in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas and former Provincial Superior of Missionaries of La Salette, USA).

For more information call the parish at 508-385-3252.

Did you know if you or someone you know needs the help of Birthright of Falmouth, 320 Gifford Street, they will pick her and a friend up at the boat and return them too. Contact them at 508-457 0680, http://birthright.org/en/ landingpage/lp-falmouth. For more information please contact Sue Pagliccia at 508-693-0342, or Donna Gazaille at 508-627-5095. The Love for Life Apostolate at Good Shepherd Parish on Martha’s Vineyard has monthly meetings are on the second Friday of each month at 3:30 p.m. at the parish center.

The Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group is an organization that provides temporary and emergency financial assistance to year-round island cancer patients and their families.

The funds provided are used primarily for travel and expenses not covered by insurance. Information is also provided about resources available to the Vineyard cancer patients on the island and elsewhere in New England. The group is run completely by volunteers allowing all of the money raised to go

directly to the people it serves. A gift of any amount is always very much appreciated. MVCSG, PO Box 2214, Vineyard Haven, Mass., 02568. For more information please call 508-6277958 or visit mvcancersupport.org.

A Non-Residential Worldwide Marriage Encounter experience will be taking place at Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road in Brewster on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19. This is a nonresidential weekend, but discounted accommodations are available on a limited basis. For more information call Steve and Michelle O’Leary at 1-800710-WWME or visit www.WWMEMA. org. Space is limited, so please call today.

FALL RIVER DEANERY Father Thomas Washburn, rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral, and pastor of Good Shepherd and St. Stanislaus parishes in Fall River is offering a class, “Lord Have Mercy: Understanding Confession,” which is an exploration of the history, meaning, and spirituality of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do you struggle with this Sacrament? Do you want to know why you have to go to a priest? Just not sure if you even believe in Confession? This class is for you. Class will meet on Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m. on March 11,18, and 25. at St. Stanislaus School on Rockland Street in Fall River.

The book you will use is “Lord, Have Mercy” by Scott Hahn and is $14. payable to the rectory before classes begin. Contact the parish office at sisterlorraine@3cfallriver.org or call the rectory at 508-673-2833.

The annual Fall River Area Deanery Lenten Mission will take place from Monday, March 30 to Thursday, April 2. at St. Mary’s Cathedral each evening at 6 p.m. (Confessions) followed

by Mass and the Mission Presentation.

The Mission will also be given those same days at the 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Father James Ferreira from the Archdiocese of New York will present this year’s Mission.

Lumen Christi — Cathedral Gala will take place May 1 at White’s of Westport from 6-9 p.m. Enjoy a night in celebration of our Mother church and help Lumen Christi — the Light of Christ — continue to shine forth from the cathedral and bless the Diocese of Fall River for generations to come. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River. For more information contact Mim Sherman at msherman@catholicfoundationsema. org or call 508-985-6510.

Beacon Hospice in Fall River is

looking for caring and compassionate individuals to spend time with their patients. In addition they also utilize volunteers to make memory boards and blankets. If you want to make a difference please contact Erin Hassel at 508-324-1900, extension 108 or erin.hassell@amedisys.com with any questions.

help in His vineyard would be to volunteer as an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Communion at Sacred Heart Home, 359 Summer Street, New Bedford. Our need, at the present time, is for Sunday and Monday mornings. If you feel called to help, please contact Pauline C. Gates, 508996-6751, extension 124.

On Tuesday, March 10, Our Lady of Grace Church, 569 Sanford Road, Westport will host an event called “Made for More: Visions of the Promised Land,” which is put on by Christopher West and Mike Mangione.

Christopher West speaks internationally on the Theology of the Body of Pope St. John Paul II. The evening is from 7-9:30 p.m. and should be a great event for adults of all ages (especially young adults) and older teen-agers.

“Made for More” is an inspired blend of live music, art, and presentation that taps the deepest desires of the human heart revealing its ultimate purpose and goal.

“Finding Hope,” A Lenten retreat led

by Peggy Patenaude will take place Wednesday, March 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cathedral Camp Retreat Center, East Freetown. The $55 fee includes lunch. Registration required

by March 17. For more information and a registration form contact Peggy at 508-548-9149 or timeoutretreats@ comcast.net.

The 2020 Fall River Area Support Group is a support group to help people cope with the loss of a loved one.

Losing someone we love truly hurts, leaving us with so many unanswered questions and a multitude of conflicting emotions. At first, we may turn to family and friends to share our grief; but as time goes on, we may find it difficult to reach out to them. This support group meets on Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m. at the Catholic Education Center, 423 Highland Avenue, Fall River, 7-9 p.m. The sessions are each 6 weeks long. They are: May 12-June 23, July 21-September 1, and September 29-November 10. There are no fees and parking is available adjacent to the building. For more information or to register, call 508-675-1311, ext. 6701, or email rsaraiva@dfrcs.org.

NEW BEDFORD DEANERY St. Anthony of Padua Parish, 1359 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford, will present a Lenten Parish Mission entitled “An Encounter with Jesus and Mary” on Saturday, March 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring speaker Roy Schoeman, who was born outside New York City of Jewish parents who had fled Nazi Germany and later converted to Christianity. He has become a popular guest on EWTN and discusses his personal witness testimony and the role of Judaism in Salvation history. The cost for the mission is $25 per person and includes a bag lunch.

To register or for more information, visit www.saintanthonynewbedford. com or call the parish rectory at 508993-1691.

Do you feel God asking you to do something more for him? One way to

The next Emmaus is March 13-15 at Cathedral Camp in East Freetown.

Emmaus is a retreat for men and women (ages 20 and up) who seek to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, regardless of their present level of faith or practice. Website: www. emmausretreats.com.

Our Lady Queen of Angels Secular Franciscan Fraternity in New Bedford invites you to join them at one of its gatherings on the third Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. in the basement of Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street. Contact our Paul Freitas, OFS at 508-997-3460.

The group also sponsors the Divine Mercy Emerging Fraternity in Wareham which meets on the second Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

A van pool leaves Our Lady’s Chapel between 5:45 and 6 p.m. Contact Father Maximilian at 508-996-8274 to reserve a seat.

TAUNTON DEANERY The Taunton Deanery will sponsor a Day of Recollection this year instead of a Lenten Mission. It will be held at Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Taunton on Saturday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The theme of the day will be: “Our call to Unity. We Are One.” Mark your calendar.

Cursillo is a short course in Christianity where one can encounter Christ in a small Christian community. It can deepen faith and strengthen the ability to share our faith with others. Cursillos are hosted by Holy Cross Retreat House in Easton. The weekend runs from Thursday evening through Sunday evening. The cost is $150 per person. Financial aid is available. The 2020 dates for Cursillo are: Men’s: March 26-29 and October 22-25.

Women’s: April 23-26 and November 19-22 For more information, contact Diane Cheevers at 508-577-4548 or www.retreathouse.org.

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In our neighboring communities

The Emmaus Ministry for Grieving Parents in partnership with the Archdiocese of Boston is serving Spiritual needs of parents whose children of any age have died by any cause, no matter how long ago.

They offer one-hour, one-day and weekend Spiritual retreats. For more information: www.emfgp.org.

The Cranberry Catholic Collaborative with Saints Martha and Mary, Sacred Heart, and St. Rose of Lima parishes together a Father J.T. Osunkwo, a parochial vicar native Nigerian priest, are involved in the Amake Waterm Borehole Project to provide clean water to Father Osunkwo’s home village. This is a great opportunity for high school students across parish lines to help.

More information: Amy Dow, director of Project Development, amydow@cranberrycatholic.org or Father J.T. at judethaddeus@ cranberrycatholic.org.

Retrouvaille is a program to help couples heal and renew their Marriages. If you feel lost, alone, or bored in your Marriage; if you are constantly fighting, or simply “shut down”; if you are considering separation or divorce, Retrouvaille provides Marriage help. For more information call: 1-800-470-2230, or visit: www.

HelpOurMarriage.com.

Encourage the Holy Spirit to perfect your Marriage by attending a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. The next weekends are March 13-15, in Duxbury, and April 18-19, in Brewster. For more information, call Stephen and Michelle O’Leary at 800-710-9963 or visit them at https://wwmema.org/.

A “My One Wild and Precious Life” women’s retreat will be led by Peggy Patenaude at Miramar Retreat Center in Duxbury, April 1719. For more information contact the center at 78-585-2460.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests and deacons during the coming weeks:

March 6 Rev. Joseph F. McDonough, Former Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1906 Rev. John W. Quirk, Founder, St. Joseph, Taunton, 1932 Rev. Bernard P. Connolly, S.S., St. Charles College, Maryland, 1932 Rev. Antoine Lanoue, O.P., 1996 Rev. Jerome Lawyer, C.S.C., 2006 March 7 Rev. Arthur P.J. Gagnon, Pastor, Holy Rosary, New Bedford, 1958 March 8 Permanent Deacon Victor Haddad, 2014 March 9 Rev. Msgr. Henry J. Noon, V.G., Pastor, St. James, New Bedford; Vicar General, 1934-47, 1947 March 12 Rev. Aurelien L. Moreau, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1961 Rev. Adrien E. Bernier, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1989 Rev. George I. Saad, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Purgatory, New Bedford, 1991 March 16 Rev. Francis J. Maloney. S.T.L., Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1957 Rev. Timothy J. Tobin, C.S.C., 2006 March 17 Rev. Rev. Henry R. Creighton, SS.CC., 2004 Permanent Deacon Michael E. Murray, 2008 Rev. Bartley MacPháidin, C.S.C., Former President, Stonehill College, Easton, 2016 March 18 Rev. Robert D. Forand, C.P., West Hartford, Conn., 1989 Permanent Deacon Frank W. Mis, 2011 March 19 Rev. John J. McQuaide, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunton, 1905

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† March 6, 2020

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ASSONET — St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds 6:30 p.m. Mass followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Adoration at 7:15 p.m. every Wednesday evening.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every First Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending at 5 p.m.

DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Mary’s Church, 783 Dartmouth Street, every First Monday of the month, following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with evening prayers and Benediction at 5 p.m.

East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower).

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of Padua Church, on the corner of Bedford and Sixteenth streets, has Eucharistic Adoration accompanied by music and prayer every first Wednesday of the month from 6-7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursdays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Friday at 8 a.m.

FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

FALL RIVER — St. Joseph’s Church has a Holy Hour every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., with Benediction at 6:45 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Michael’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m. Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Each First Friday Mass ends with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration continues until Benediction at 5 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration is held every Thursday, with Confessions, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church. Please use the side entrance.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 4 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 4 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 8 a.m., and every First Friday.

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

NORTH EASTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Immaculate Conception Church Chapel on the first Wednesday of the month beginning after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, until 6:40 p.m. Those wishing to make a monthly commitment can sign up on the parish website at www.icceaston.org or call the parish office at 508-238-3232.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m.

Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m.

Mass.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m.

Taunton — The Chapel of St. Andrew the Apostle, 19 Kilmer Avenue, Taunton, will host Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Taunton — St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Taunton will host Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 9 a.m.

Mass and the St. Jude Novena, until 11:30, ending with Benediction. It will take place at Holy Rosary Chapel during the summer months.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall.

† PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION † ATTLEBORO — Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street in Attleboro. All welcome to visit. To sign up for an hour or for more information call 508-212-8528.

East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

Bishop Connolly High School students gathered on Shrove Tuesday with Father Chris Peschel to bury the Alleluia and burn palms in preparation for Ash Wednesday.

Burying the Alleluia is a symbolic gesture to usher in the solemn season of Lent.

Young people for the Catholic Community of Central Fall River gather around the altar of Good Shepherd at the conclusion of our Life Night Ashes to Ashes Lenten program. (Photo by Deacon Alan Thadau) March 6, 2020 â€

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Fall River collaborative to hold Youth Mission continued from page one

Osterville, Our Lady of Victory in Centerville, and Our Lady of Hope Chapel in West Barnstable, will be the guest homilist. “In our youth events, it is always powerful when our youth hear powerful messages of faith from people closer to their age,” Father Washburn told The Anchor. “Father Matt is among the youngest priests in our diocese, and a wonderful preacher who speaks effectively to young people.”

As with other youth-oriented events in the three-parish collaborative, the Lenten Mission is receiving a healthy response from area youth. “We are hoping for a good response, Father Washburn said.

“The initial contacts that we have received suggest it will be.

“Since we began publicizing the event, it has taken on a life of its own and we now have received interest from other parishes, as well as Catholic high schools in the area. We’re hoping it will be a well-attended event and a deeply Spiritual moment for our youth on their Lenten journey.

“We do hope that this will be the first of an annual event, and it has already grown outside of the parishes of our collaborative.”

In the 18 months of its existence, the fledgling Catholic Community of Central Fall River has experienced many successes early in its journey, and a great deal of those successes have been the focus of bringing youth into the mix.

“The idea of a collaborative is a pastoral plan that does not simply seek to circle the wagons and 20

† March 6, 2020

surrender to an inevitable process of decline,” Father Washburn told The Anchor. “Instead, by gathering together the people and the resources of our parishes it gives us the opportunity to focus on evangelization with the hope of renewal and growth.

“We’re only a year-and-half into our process of creating this collaborative, but our early evidence is hopeful. In our first year, our Mass attendance has grown by 10 percent. That alone is astounding.

Through our efforts at evangelizing, we will have 37 candidates at our Easter Vigil being received into the Church and/or completing their Sacraments of Initiation. That is up from just three people last year.

These are all initial signs that tell us we are on the right track. And, another key component of this new evangelization is a focus on the evangelizing of our young people and their parents. All of our staff is guided by two principles — every encounter that we have from the most formal to the most casual must be both pastoral and evangelizing. Our whole community catechesis program, our bereavement ministry, the work that we’re doing with families bringing their children for Baptism, our youth ministry program and Sunday night Youth Mass — these are all examples of how these two areas of focus — being pastoral and evangelizing — are having a good effect.

We are thrilled with the attendance in all of our youth programs and they continue to increase.”

W

Dormant no longer

e’re almost there folks.

By the time this Anchor edition is published, spring will be less than two weeks away.

There are several indications this is so. One, already past, is that a Pennsylvania rodent saw not its shadow, thereby predicting spring six weeks from February 2. Next, the calendar tells us the spring equinox takes place on March 19.

These two indicators are not the most reliable, but I do believe we have dodged a big bullet this season in Southeast Massachusetts (and no I don’t believe I just cursed us to have an Easter blizzard this year by saying that).

But there are three far more accurate indicators of spring floating around us: 1) another Boston sports team is awaiting its fate for a suspected cheating scandal; 2) the “Tom Brady watch” has become more annoying, repetitive and nonsensical than the presidential primaries; and 3) we get to lose an hour of sleep this weekend, but that’s always a good thing — it means that the sun will set eight minutes shy of 7 p.m.

Fading quickly in our collective rearview mirrors are the

days when it was dark seemingly by noon.

Yes folks, spring is on its way.

There’s sunlight at the end of the tunnel, as are warm days and pleasant nights. That, of course, is if we don’t encounter two months of constant rain and wind.

In winter, the trees, flowers and plants are not dead, but dormant (right Dave and Tracey?).

And there are signs already that it’s time for area flora to awaken from that dormancy.

We too, should be readying ourselves to awaken from our winter hibernation and prepare to live again.

And the best indicator of spring’s arrival is the beginning of Lent. While it is a season of repentance and sacrifice, it’s also a season of hope, of seeing that Easter light at the end of the tunnel.

While spring is not quite yet here, we are on its cusp, and it’s time for us to be dormant no longer.

And to those who emailed or wrote to me, I did get ashes this year, and I didn’t get them from a trash can or a garden.

Boy, that one took on a life of its own! Happy spring, amigos. davejolivet@anchornews.org